Demolition proposed for Johns Hopkins birthplace

Whites Hall, in Gambrills, is the birthplace of Johns Hopkins. The 1700's home sits on 13 acres of land. Developers have put in requests to tear the historic structure down.

Whites Hall, in Gambrills, is the birthplace of Johns Hopkins. The 1700's home sits on 13 acres of land. Developers have put in requests to tear the historic structure down. (By Matthew Cole / Capital Gazette)

An Anne Arundel County developer wants to tear down Whites Hall, the Gambrills house where Johns Hopkins was born.

Millersville-based Polm Cos. requested a demolition permit for the property on Jan. 13, according to an application obtained by The Capital.

Hopkins, who helped start the hospital and the university named after him in Baltimore, was born in the two-story, red brick house in 1795. His great-grandfather, Gerard Hopkins II, bought the tract of land in Gambrills in 1719 and the house was built sometime between 1784 and 1792, according to state records.

Over the years, the once-1,800-acre property has dwindled, giving way to townhouses and a golf course.

Today, Whites Hall sits on 13 acres of land that Polm Cos. President Rick Polm bought through development interests a decade ago. The company has applied to build an 80-unit, 74,000-square-foot assisted living facility called Spring Arbor on a 10.5 acre plot of land next door.

That project has been a point of contention among some local residents, who have raised concerns about traffic and Spring Arbor's proximity to the Hopkins birthplace. But the developer has not previously discussed plans for the historic site itself.

It was unclear Wednesday what plans Polm Cos. has for the Whites Hall land if the house is razed. Reached by phone, the developer's construction manager Rick Coyle — who submitted the application for demolition — said the request had nothing to do with the proposed assisted living facility.

Coyle would not elaborate on why the company wants to take down the house, and referred questions to Polm, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Though Whites Hall was entered into the Maryland Historical Trust's Inventory of Historic Properties in 1969, the inventory is not a regulatory tool, meaning it doesn't provide special protection for historic sites.

Planning and Zoning officials were not available Wednesday to comment on the demolition approval process, or whether there are any special conditions for approving demolitions of historic properties.

Local historian Jane McWilliams said the property, a rare example of Georgian architecture in that part of Anne Arundel County, is a "wonderful house with a wonderful history."

Hopkins, the descendant of a prominent Quaker family, lived on the plantation until he was 17, where he worked in the fields after his parents freed their slaves in 1807. Whites Hall remained in the Hopkins family until 1910, then passed through several private owners.

The most recent owner, Stephen W. Duckett, bought the property in 1941 and raised Black Angus cattle there, according to The Baltimore Sun's archives. Duckett sold the property and about 51 acres of surrounding land to Polm through his development interests, Severn Run LLC and Hole in One Limited, for $2.5 million in 2005, and lived there until his death, when the property was turned over to the developer.

The house has been unoccupied for several years and its exterior shows signs of disrepair. Its doors and windows have been boarded up.

"It is a shame that we are not taking more notice of the historic buildings of our county that give it so much character," McWilliams said.

Torrey Jacobsen, vice president of the Greater Crofton Council, said county officials told his group as recently as December that they would work with Polm to preserve the house. He said community members offered to help find a buyer for the property if it's put up for sale.

He plans to lobby local politicians to try to save the house: "Over my dead body will they knock down the Johns Hopkins home."

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated White Hall was sold by the family of former White Hall owner Stephen Duckett after his death. In fact, Duckett lived in the house until he died, at which point it was turned over to Polm Cos.